The Price Of Freedom
by The Rise Of The Cursed Child
Summary: Suffering from the guardian's abuses for the first eleven years of her life and forced to suppress her magic, Delphi becomes an obscurial. Alone in the world, scared and possessing more powers than she knows, she finds herself at odds with the world. With the chance to attend Hogwarts, can Delphini find a home?
1. Chapter 1

_You wicked child._

 _Monstrous little beast._

 _Magic like yours is evil and I won't be having you use it in in this house._

 _Accident or not, you used your darkness and must be punished._

 _If I wasn't here then you would have already been sent to Azkaban. The Aurors would take one look at you and see that you're only capable of doing evil, just like your parents._

 _There is no mercy for things like you._

These were the words that Delphi had become accustomed to throughout her short life, their sting was as familiar as her own face, and she would be lying if she said she was numb to the pain. They weren't reserved only for when she had misbehaved, taken a book from Aunt Rowle's room or dared to step outside; depending on the crone's mood, it could for something as simple as looking at her the wrong way.

These incidents paled in comparison to using magic.

When she was still too young to know better, she committed this offence far more regularly. Shattering a tea cup when she was being shouted at, levitating a book in boredom, these simple actions were akin to the unforgivable curses in the eyes of Euphemia Rowle. As she grew, however, Delphi did not gain better control of her own powers, as one might assume from the drop in their frequency. Instead, she bottled it up inside, accepting her torment with the knowledge that even the slightest use of magic would deprive her of what little food she did receive.

By the time of her eleventh birthday, Delphi was beginning to think that her magical abilities were simply a fluke, a talent that had died as she aged. There had been no incidents in over a year, but this didn't stop every creak of a door and gusts of wind being blamed on her.

Curled up under her thin blanket, she could hear the chiming of the clock downstairs, signalling midnight.

"One, two, three, four…" She mouthed along with the chimes, smiling to herself as she reached twelve. She knew that no presents waited for her once the sun rose, not even so much as acknowledgment of the day from her guardian.

Delphini was realistic in her expectations for the day ahead, years of disappointments had made her realise that this was to be no different to any of the others that came before it and those that would follow. There was no hope for a miracle.

Eleven years old and still trapped in the same house that she had lived for that time, exiled to the attic each night, or locked in the cellar if she had particularly irritated Aunt Rowle that day. _I've stopped my magic, I couldn't have made you sick_ , was her defence on one of the occasions when she was dragged into the pitch-black depths of the house, but that wasn't enough for her guardian. Hours, even days were spent down there, thirsty and utterly alone in the darkness.

Still lying on the mattress, she closed her eyes and focused, trying to sense any of the same magic that she had always tried to suppress. _Please_ she begged to herself, _let me know you're still there._ She held her breath until she felt her chest could burst, tears gathering in the corners of her dark eyes. Sensing nothing: she relaxed, panting as her body scrambled for air. Delphi didn't want the unpredictable outbursts that got her into trouble to return, but was desperate for some sign that she hadn't destroyed her magic forever.

Last year she would've given anything to get rid of this power that made her life so miserable, but seeing how her punishments continued regardless and noting the empty numbness that threatened to swallow her, she just wanted to feel something. Anything.

Although she had no memory of it, she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she heard was a screeching voice telling her to make breakfast that very instant. Usually Delphi was already up by this point, but she realised that her midnight efforts had made her more tired than normal.

She was not allowed time for a wash this morning, that would only be given once she had finished her chores, ones that usually took well into the afternoon. There was no choice in clothes, only the same grey dress that she wore every day, dirty and creased.

"You're late." Greeted Delphi the moment she entered the small kitchen. She quickly apologised, ducking her head as she spoke to the woman sat at the table. The breakfast process was now instinctual to the girl, preparing it every day for the last four years-although it never escaped some form of criticism.

"The bacon was burnt yesterday, it better not be the same today."

"Yes, Aunt Rowle." She obeyed, thinking again how curious it was that despite the title, it was clear that they shared no such relation. Her guardian was short, or perhaps it was just that Delphi was tall, for there seemed only a short difference in heights. There was no shared feature, impossibly straight brown hair against Delphi's shorter black curls. Once a year, Delphi dared to take Euphemia's scissors and cut her hair to a manageable length, and now her uncontrollable curls only just passed her shoulders.

Starting to cook the bacon, she used this time to set the table: one plate, one knife, one fork, one glass, and nothing for herself. As she stood at the counter, able to do no more until the food cook, she stole a glance at the calendar on the wall, the only confirmation that it was in fact her birthday today, the twenty-third day of September.

"What are you staring at, foolish child?" Euphemia snapped, jolting Delphi out of her out mind.

"Nothing, just the wall." She quickly lied, desperate not to provoke her on her birthday of all days. Her most recent imprisonment downstairs had lasted 4 days, a record, and she had no desire to repeat it.

Unfortunately, this seemed to only infuriate her guardian more. "Don't lie to me!" The woman rose from her seat, stalking towards her young ward. Delphi tried to pacify her, reiterating how it was nothing, she was just distracted.

Euphemia grasped Delphi's face in her claws, forcing her to meet her eyes. "Liars have to be punished, and you are nothing more than a filthy monstrous liar. I never should've taken you in."

Unable to help it, her body started shaking at the thought of the cellar, allowing Euphemia's nails to dig further into her face. "I was just looking at the calendar, it's my birthday. That's all."

Her pale eyes narrowed in suspicion, before suddenly scoffing. "Your birthday… as if that means anything to you. You are worth nothing, less than a speck of dust, you don't deserve a _birthday._ "

Momentarily, her fingers relaxed and Delphi hoped that the confrontation was over. Soon she realised she should've known better, for the claws returned even sharped, breaking skin. Her guardian's outbursts often left bruises, but Euphemia always made sure that there was no injury that would leave a lasting mark or scar, for what reason, Delphi didn't know.

"It's ironic, of course, but you don't know any of it. When you were first given to me I was actually the one afraid of you, for weeks I tended to every last whim and cry that you gave, as though you were important. I thought that my actions would be rewarded, that my custody of you would give me more wealth and power than I had ever before, I actually saw you as something beneficial." She paused in her tirade to pass her gaze over the girl she held powerless in her grip, sneering in disgust. "That all changed when the war ended and suddenly you were nothing. Hardly anyone knew about you, and those that did tried to forget that you ever existed. You have no one in this world, no one that cares if you live or died. I'm stuck here with you, a pathetic, cowering creature that means nothing anymore. You would be such a disappointment anyway, a weak girl who doesn't deserve anything."

 _Weak._

So that is what she was. Not powerless. She was weak, like Euphemia said, too weak to stop this vile woman abusing her, too weak to even use her magic anymore.

 _Did she have to be weak?_ Delphi thought, as her guardian began dragging her towards the cellar door.

As she was moved, she felt herself shaking again, but not from fear. A tidal wave was building inside her, vibrating through her bones, pulsating outwards and exploding the glass frames on the wall as she passed. The walls shook as her vision blurred, a dark mist overtaking everything. Her body was no longer constraining her power, and with a thunderous roar, Delphi felt no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Gradually Delphi became aware of her surroundings: dark bricks lined the walls on three sides of her, and whispering voices which her brain was still too jumbled to make sense of. _Where am I?_ Her brain panicked, having only a slight remembrance of the traumatic event that had just happened. She knew she wasn't in the house anymore, that much was obvious, but considering she had never been allowed outside she could not even begin the guess her present location.

She was lying on a metal slab that substituted as a bed, but aside from that her room was entirely empty, yet possessed a hollow iciness that only further increased her distress. The fourth wall, at least where it was meant to be, was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The air shimmered and distorted what lay behind it, preventing her from seeing what existed beyond, her eyes paining from looking to long at the mirage.

 _Magic,_ she thought, unable to do anything but stare in awe at the mysterious force that she only had such an elementary understanding of. As far as Delphi had been concerned, magic had been used for small menial tasks, Aunt Rowle weeding the garden, turning the lights on and off, and even then, she had always made an effort to do it when she didn't think Delphi was looking. There was something addicting, captivating about seeing true magic, witnessing the power that she had learnt to both simultaneously deny and crave.

It was only when she finally looked down at herself that she realised that she was wearing different clothes than that morning, her dress replaced with a simple pair of grey trousers and a loose top, unlike anything that she had ever been allowed to wear before. Barefoot, she recoiled slightly when she dropped her legs from the bed to touch the floor, the chilliness of the ground surprising her. In the same action Delphi realised that ever muscle in her body ached, her bones itching, as though every cell in her body had been dragged apart and then reassembled.

The voices originating from beyond the magical wall only grew in volume from the moment she moved, her lips thinning with annoyance at her inability to discern what they were saying. However, she didn't have to wait long because in a fraction of a second the wall became transparent, allowing her to see beyond and the people that stood there.

Part of Delphi expected to see her guardian there, smiling smugly at the idea of her being imprisoned, yet the woman was not one of the five stood there: two women and three men, all utter strangers to the young girl. They were smartly dressed and staring intensely at Delphi as if she was a caged animal, the examination making her want to curl up under the bed and hide from their peering eyes.

"Do you know where you are?" One of the women, a stern, eagle-eyed statue roughly the same age as Aunt Rowle, asked monotonously, no ounce of comfort in her voice.

Her mouth opened slightly, thoughts tumbling around in her brain, her vision blurring slightly the more stressed she became. Delphi attempted to verbalise a 'no' but her throat was too dry for any noise to emerge, so had had to simply shake her head. Much to her disappointment she was not told her location.

The woman spoke again, her question "Why did you attack Euphemia Rowle?"

 _Attack?_

"Hortense…" One the of men began, "she's just a child who doesn't deserve this." He had a much kinder face than the woman, Hortense, warm green eyes sat behind a pair of glasses and below shaggy black hair.

It was clear Hortense was not pleased with being criticised, her hawk-like eyes turning on her colleague. "Auror Potter, this is not just a child, in case you need reminding. She is already responsible for the death of one person and remains a danger to everyone she comes into contact with. We need to know the truth about what happened."

Delphi sat there, picking at one of her fingernails nervously as she listened. _Death?_ She had no idea what they were talking about. She remembered Aunt Rowle shouting at her, hurting her, but nothing after that. Surely, she didn't do anything bad, especially if she couldn't even recall it.

"She's terrified, she has no idea what happened, it's obvious from just looking at her." His gaze met hers and a moment of understanding occurred. "She just needs a friend."

"We'll try your method and when it doesn't work I will use whatever technique I deem necessary." The man let out a small smile, nodding, appearing confident in himself.

He approached the strange wall, kneeling down so that his eyes were at the same height as hers. "I'm Harry, what's your name?"

"Delphini" Her voice scratched, irritating her throat.

"It's nice to meet you, Delphini."

"I prefer Delphi." She admitted, responding to her genuinely caring tone in Harry's words.

His smile reached his eyes. "That's a very pretty name too. Do you have a last name?"

The question stumped Delphi, unsure of how to respond. "I don't think so, _she_ never told me."

"She?"

"Aunt Rowle, Euphemia." She explained, noting how a floating notebook in the corner was jotting down something whenever she spoke, she hoped that she was saying the right thing.

He, Harry, pressed further, although not harshly. "How long have you been living with your aunt?"

Shrugging, she responded: "I'm not sure, for as long as I can remember." She stopped, but then suddenly blurted out, "she's not actually my aunt, she just told me to call her that."

"That's okay. What's the last thing you remember?" Upon seeing a hint of worry in Delphi's face she added: "you don't have to say if you don't want to."

 _What can I remember?_

"It was my birthday, my eleventh birthday." She paused, but seeing the encouraging look that Harry was giving her, continued. "Aunt Rowle was angry at me."

"Do you know why?"

Delphi made eye contact with him, noting something familiar about his eyes, though she had no idea why, she had never met anyone with eyes like his before.

"She never needed a reason, she just hates me. She likes punishing me." Upon saying this, she saw a glimmer of recognition in Harry's face, sadness and sympathy.

"How would she punish you?"

A tornado of memories from her childhood flew across her mind, every time she was starved, locked away, hit and shouted at. The most prominent and recent memory became clearer. "She would lock me in the cellar with no food or water, I could never see anything down there."

Delphi's head buzzed, flashes of darkness and power appearing, and she had to fight an urge to lash out, only the knowledge that these people had never done anything to her keeping her calm.

"Is that what she did on your birthday?" His voice significantly quieter than before, speaking not to everyone in the room, just to her, the other four people invisible in that moment.

She nodded. "I was so scared."

At this, Harry stood up and slowly turned to Hortense. "See, she's just a terrified girl who has spent years in fear."

Hortense, however, was not so convinced. "That doesn't mean anything, _it_ is dangerous. We have never managed to study an Obscurial, we don't know if there is anything left of the girl inside or if this is just the dark magic speaking. There hasn't been a sighting of one in almost a century."

Her words meant nothing to Delphi, only adding to her distress. They were talking about her like she wasn't there, like she was just some sub-human creature. "I'm not dangerous, please! I don't even have magic, Aunt Rowle doesn't like me using it so I stopped." Tears began gathering in her eyes as the group stared at her strangely. "She always told me that my magic was bad, that _I_ was bad so I stopped it so that she wouldn't get so angry at me."

Harry attempted to dissuade some of her distress. "You don't have to worry, Delphi. No one is going to punish you here."

Hortense looked taken aback at this, chiding Harry. "You can't tell her that she won't be punished, she is responsible for the death of a witch and must face the consequences."

The pieces had been there all along, but it was only then that they put themselves together. She couldn't remember hurting Aunt Rowle, or killing her, but these people seemed convinced that she had done so. How could she have done it? She had no magic anymore, especially not enough to kill someone!

Questions raced through her mind and she found it suddenly harder to breathe, her heart attempting to fight its way out of her chest. It was becoming harder and harder to remain focused, her mind felt as if it was running away from her, and her body shook uncontrollably. Something within her wanted to get out, a wild monster that wanted to rampage and take control of her.

In the distance, she could hear a faint voice calling her name, "Delphi!" but it was of no concern to her anymore as her body dissolved once more into a swarm of dark magic.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: When it comes to the other known Obscurial, Credence, I'm trying to be as vague as possible so that I won't contradict future canon, but I also want to acknowledge his existence. I might come back and edit things when 'Crimes of Grindelwald' comes out, so until then I won't be mentioning him much/

The girl's power raged for more than four hours before she collapsed from exhaustion, and had remained asleep ever since. It was a truly terrifying thing to see the Obscurus up close, so much magic and rage more akin to a wild beast than a child. Unlike anything Harry had seen before, unlike anything anyone in the Ministry of Magic had seen before and even those who had been around when the last Obscurial had been seen, New York in the 1920s, had little valuable information relating to it.

"Harry!" A familiar voice called, making him look up from the chair he had sat himself in.

"Hermione, I thought you had gone home already." His friend had been working in the Ministry ever since they graduated Hogwarts, and had already impressively climbed several rungs of the political ladder. Her final goal, Minister of Magic, was one he knew she could most certainly achieve.

She shook her head. "Ron's taking care of Rose on his tonight so that I could gather this." Harry's eyes landed on a bulky stack of books and files she carried in her arms. "I've collected everything we have on Obscurials, as well as everything relating to Euphemia Rowle-though there was surprisingly little."

The pair moved themselves into a vacant room so that she could brief him on what she had found so far. Seeing all of Hermione's research laid out on the table felt incredibly nostalgic, reminding him of their school years.

"This is what the books say about Obscurials: 'they occur when a magical child is forced to repress their talent through physical or psychological abuse, developing a parasitical magical force inside of them called an Obscurus, resulting from their strong emotions of distress.'" She finished reading the definition, looking to Harry for confirmation.

"That seems to line up exactly with what we know about Delphi. It seems her guardian forbid her from using magic, up until she couldn't take it anymore. What else did you find?" There was a lot about Delphi's story that resonated with his own experiences, adding to his sympathy.

Hermione wasn't smiling when she continued speaking, creating a sinking feeling in Harry's stomach. "I'm sorry, Harry, but there doesn't seem to ever be a good outcome when dealing with Obscurials. In most cases the child is completely possessed by the Obscurus, with both the child and the Obscurus dying. I'm not quite sure why Delphi is still alive and _herself,_ in all these books there has only ever been one case where the child has even lived beyond their tenth birthday."

Determined not to be disheartened, he continued. "I've heard a bit about that, the American boy, right?"

"Yes: Credence Barebone, 1926. He didn't develop into an Obscurial until much later than most do, and when he did it was incredibly powerful, killing a number of people. No one really knows how he managed to live so long, the main theory being that he had a large amount of latent power which meant that he could suppress the Obscurus for longer."

"Isn't this all good news? The Obscurus hasn't taken over Delphi, despite appearing twice, and she still appears to be in control of herself most of the time. If she is taught how to control it then perhaps-"

"You don't get it, Harry!" Hermione interrupted. "An Obscurial isn't just a child who can be guided and live a normal life. We have no idea if she will be able to do regular magic. Besides, just because she survived the Obscurus this time, who knows if she will the next time, or the time after that? This is more than just powerful magic, it's an entire dark entity that is capable of only death and destruction."

Harry couldn't understand how she could be so dismissive, she hadn't seen the girl, hadn't seen the frightened little child who had no idea what was happening to her. He wasn't going to give up on her so easily.

"We don't know that! Just because we don't understand everything about them doesn't mean we should just dismiss the possibility that Delphi could one day control her power. Her Obscurus only emerges when she is scared and in distress, so doesn't it follow that if we make her feel safe then she won't use it? She has been mistreated all of her life, deprived of love, so how are we better than her abuser if we also do so?"

Hermione just stared back at him, her gaze unwavering as she gathered some of her papers together. "You're just projecting."

"What?"

"You see yourself in Delphi. A child mistreated by those who raised her, unloved, and you want to help her in the same way that people at Hogwarts did. I'm sorry but you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement." Harry had no idea how to respond, he could see why she was interpreting the situation that way, even if she was wrong.

He saw some more of the files that she had, most notably a thin one labelled 'Euphemia Rowle'. "What did you find out about her guardian?"

From the look in Hermione's eyes he could tell that she knew he was purposefully changing the subject, but didn't pick him up on it.

"There isn't much, to be honest. Born into a Pureblood family, went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin. Several relatives were known Death Eaters, with all of them either deceased or in Azkaban. There is no evidence to suggest that Euphemia was involved with them, in fact we don't know anything about her since the end of the War, she had no job, no friends and hasn't done anything of interest. The only thing we do know is that she has a significant fortune, enough to support her for at least another twenty years."

"What do we know about when she adopted Delphi?"

Hermione replied plainly, her answer surprising Harry. "There was no adoption."

"I don't understand."

"All official adoptions must be registered at the Ministry, but there is no record of Euphemia Rowle ever adopting a child or gaining guardianship of one."

This whole case was just getting stranger and stranger, and an itch at the back of Harry's mind made him think they were only at the start of it. "What if she adopted her from a muggle orphanage?"

"That could be a possibility…" She began, contemplating for several seconds. "However, it's very unlikely. What possible reason could she have for adopting a child who was most likely just a muggle. From what I have been told, Delphi came to Rowle's house far too young to have already been displaying any signs of being magical. Also, Euphemia had no relation to the child, none of her family registered births eleven years ago, and besides, what possible reason could she have for not registering the adoption?"

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, the whole situation was odd, and the woman herself was not even alive to question.

"Even if Euphemia had kidnapped the child, then her real parents should have registered her birth and reported her missing." He threw out the possibility.

"We can't know for sure, there was a lot of confusion then, it was the height of the war. Her parents could have been killed before they could go to the ministry, it would not have been impossible that an orphan could slip through the cracks." Hermione attempted to rationalise.

"That still doesn't explain why Euphemia would keep her a secret all of these years!" His voice raised with irritation, no explanation they had thought of solved all of the unanswered questions surrounding Delphi. "She was literally locked in that house for all day, every day. She didn't go to school, make friends, even those that knew Rowle seem to have no idea why she had a child living with her."

"I'm not the only one looking into this, Harry, we have people going through all the births and adoptions during and just after the war, as well as sending people to look at muggle adoptions. Euphemia was hiding something, but she couldn't have hidden everything. The _why_ isn't your responsibility, you just need to focus on keeping Delphi stable."

He let out a deep sigh, running his hands through his hair. His muscles groaned with exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

"Go home Harry, at least get some sleep. You'll be no good to Delphi if you can't concentrate." Hermione advised, her chiding appropriate considering he hadn't stopped working since the news about the Obscurial appearance first appeared.

Harry gave out a half-hearted agreement, knowing he must be too tired for why else would his forehead be pulsing-it couldn't be the scar.


	4. Chapter 4

There was no official protocol when considering what to do with the young Delphini-for the Ministry had never had to deal with a situation such as hers before. No one had any idea about what to expect every day they came into work, although everyone had opinions. As expected, there were those who believed the girl too dangerous to ever be allowed out into society again, spending the rest of her life-however long that might be, locked in her cell where she can be observed and monitored. Some merely considered her a valuable specimen from which great magical discoveries can be made and suggested that the ministry allow them to perform various tests on her, without care for her compliance.

Faced with such opposition, Harry considered himself in the minority that placed Delphi's needs first. He had every confidence in her one day gaining control over her Obscurus, and hoped that when that day came she be allowed to truly see the world for the first time in her life, living like every child does. It was hard for him not to humanise her, as a father of two young children he struggled every time he saw Delphi locked in that small room.

"Hello Delphi." He would begin every meeting.

"Hello Mr Potter." She would respond. _Harry, please-_ he would correct her.

She would always smile back, an almost-smirk that Harry knew meant she would make the same mistake tomorrow. This was their pattern.

This day, less than a month after she entered into the Ministry's custody, was different, for today he brought a gift, wrapped in green paper and fitted with a bow.

"What is it?" Her thin face perked up at the sight of it, rushing forward to sit opposite Harry. She looked far healthier than she used to do; she was still unusually skinny, but he suspected that it looked worse than it was because she was tall for her age. The week before he had been allowed to bring her a brush to detangle her black curls, and now they seemed far less chaotic than previously, even if they did appear to have a life of their own.

Harry took a deep breath and stepped forwards, through the magical barrier that barred Delphi from the outside world. Of course, his actions were authorised, but it taken an entire week of convincing to be allowed to do so, he guessed the reason that they finally relenting was that they didn't want to be seen opposing the _great_ Harry Potter, the hero who defeated Voldemort, a type of reverence that still made him uncomfortable.

Delphi had moved back significantly upon his entrance, watching him warily. "What if I hurt you?"

"I trust you. You don't want to hurt me." She hadn't released her Obscurus since the incident over three weeks ago, and Harry had theorised that it would only come out ago if Delphi grew agitated.

The explanation placated her worry slightly, though there was still apprehension in her eyes as she drew closer. She took the box that he held out to her, turning it over in her hands in confusion.

"A present?"

"Consider it a belated birthday present." Her head tilted to the side, uneasy. "Have you ever had one before?"

 _No,_ she shook her head. "Aunt Rowle never gave me anything."

Poor child. He suggested that she open it, his smile encouraging.

Delphi's fingernails picked at the green paper, peeling it off slowly and purposefully, being careful not to rip any of it. She soon found herself holding a long, rectangular box that bore a name 'Ollivanders'. Upon removing the lid, she found herself staring at an object which she had seen at the side of every witch and wizard who had questioned her.

"A wand…"

"It won't be perfect, I know, but this one will just be temporary. The wand chooses you but you're not able to leave her yet so I've had to just pick one that might work somewhat decently." Harry explained, but seeing the excited look on Delphi's face made it seem like it had been the right thing to do.

He was caught off-guard when the eleven-year old's face suddenly fell and she tried to hand the box back to him.

"Thank you but I can't accept it."

Harry refused to take the box back. "It's a gift, I want you to have it."

"I don't think I'll be able to use it, my magic doesn't work properly so I might just end up hurting someone again." Delphi admitted her fear. Ever since she had first released her Obscurial she hadn't been able to do anything like the accidental magic she had done when she was younger, fearing that she was broken.

"It's okay, Delphi, it's okay. We can just take it one step at a time, helping you control and channel your magic. Even if you don't trust yourself, trust me. I _know_ that you won't hurt me, so have faith in that."

Her face was completely unreadable as she thought it through, Harry being unable to interpret nothing from the expression in her dark eyes.

After remaining silent for several seconds, she finally asked: "Do you have a family? A wife? Children?"

Technically, Harry knew, that he wasn't meant to give out personal information to her, but he didn't care. "Yes, to both. My wife and I have two children, sons that are younger than you."

She smiled sadly at him. "Do you think I have a family?"

"I'm sorry Delphi but I don't know. Did she ever give you any clues?" Harry wasn't going to tell her that the ministry was no closer to finding out who she was than they were a month ago. No one born on the same day as Delphi had ever been reported missing, and there was no database like there was in the muggle world to search for blood relations, so unless something drastic happened then the search would most likely be fruitless.

Delphi mused for several seconds. "I'm pretty sure that my parents are dead, Aunt Rowle always told me that I'm completely alone in the world."

Although this knowledge wasn't a new realisation, it couldn't stop the deep pit starting in her stomach. She had never considered Euphemia Rowle to be family-more like her archenemy-but at least there had always been the comfort that there was someone with the answers to the questions that Delphi had wondered for years. Now that the woman was gone-dead-there was no guarantee that she would ever learn the truth.

"You're not alone, even if you are an orphan." He slowly reached across to place a warm hand on her shoulder. "I lost my parents when I was very young too, but I made a new family out of the friends I made."

The optimism with which he spoke almost convinced her that she could do the same, but she found her outlook to be far more realistic-if not cynical. She chose not to voice her doubts, choosing instead to smile hopefully at Harry.

"Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me for just speaking the truth." He dismissed her words. A whirring sound emanating from his wand caused him to check with watch, a frown appearing on his face.

"I'm sorry Delphi," he said. "I have to leave now, they only allowed me in for a few minutes. I'll be back tomorrow, and we can begin helping you learn how to control your magic."

Delphi quickly muttered her goodbyes to him, there was little chance to speak further with the noise coming from Harry's wand growing increasingly louder until it was hurting her ears. He once again approached the magical barrier which allowed him to cross with ease.

She was left completely alone, as though the visit had never happened, with only the wand box that still sat in her hands reminding her that there were people who had some concern for her. A large part of her knew that she should wait until tomorrow to attempt to use the wand, when she could be properly supervised, but a voice at the back of her mind, an alarmingly convincing voice, tempted her to hold the wand… use it.

She slowly raised her left hand so that her fingers were less than an inch from the wand, focusing so much that even the sound of her own breathing became inaudible. Her fingers tingled the closer they got, and for a moment Delphi reckoned that she could feel the actual magical potential in the wand-the power drawing her in. She could easily imagine herself holding the wand, wielding it, channelling the magic she knew she had into complicated spells, demonstrating great spells, complex charms that would serve Euphemia Rowle right for ever trying to diminish her.

It scared her how easily such thoughts entered her mind, and every doubt suddenly came rushing back. Quickly, she shoved the lid back on the box and pushed it under her bed, right up to the wall. She tried to ignore its existence for the rest of the day, whilst simultaneously blocking out the impulse that told her to use the wand's power. The efforts must have far more tiring than she realised, for she did not even realise how exhausted she was until she practically collapsed a few hours later.

 _Darkness… darkness everywhere…. Alone…. Powerless… Where am I?_

" _Child…" A slippery, hissing voice came from the darkness, though she could not tell from where it had spoken._

" _What is happening?" Delphi questioned, trying to disguise the fear in her voice. "Who are you?"_

" _No…." It spoke again. "Not just a child."_

 _Determined not to be intimidated by a bodiless voice, Delphi bit back: "Well if I'm not a child than what am I?"_

 _Frustrating her even further, the voice chuckled. "You are destined for greatness far beyond your comprehension. So much power… such potential… an affinity for darkness…"_

" _I am not evil!" She protested, refusing to consider that her very existence as an Obscurial was dark magic._

" _Foolish child, ignorant girl." The voice chastised, sounding increasingly sinister. "You do not get to decide such things. Your fate was decided upon before you were even born, too much energy was put into your birth for you to disrupt such a destiny."_

 _How dare this disembodied voice tell her what she is to become? She had spent eleven years in a caged existence, not free to make a single decision for herself. No longer, no longer would she let others tell her who she is._

" _I am powerful, very powerful, more powerful than a voice that dares not to even show its true form. You think that you have control over me?" She wanted to add that she did not even possess control over herself, but in her anger managed to hold back._

 _When the voice did not reply for several seconds she thought that her words might have scared it away, and she felt like laughing. Scared away by a little girl… how pathetic!_

 _Amidst her private celebration, a sound did appear, though not the voice. It was familiar, striking a cord in the very core of her body, even if she could say what it was. For a moment, she thought that it was someone crying, but the strange mournful moan had a quality about it that wasn't quite human. The noise was growing louder, louder than the voice had ever been, making it impossible to tune it out and harder to think._

" _Stop! Stop it!" She roared, clutching her hands to her head, her eyes brimming with tears._

 _In those last few seconds before she lost consciousness the voice returned, even if she was too pained to hear it punctuate just two words: "My Augurey."_

Miles away, in the comfort of the bed he shared with his wife, Harry Potter found himself thrown from his sleep. It was no nightmare that had woke him, but a pain that he had not felt in over a decade: his scar burned.


	5. Chapter 5

As expected, the issue of Delphi's magic did not fix itself during their first lesson. In fact, the disaster of that encounter almost convinced her to give up entirely. It was only Harry's words, encouraging and optimistic that convinced her to allow him to teach her again later that week. It was not that Delphi lacked the ability to perform magic-the opposite was what the young auror found to be most accurate. When describing it to the girl he told her to imagine that she was unleashing a flood every time she was turning on the tap, she was throwing far more power than was necessary. He quickly realised that before teaching her how to channel her power through a wand, he needed to help her actually gain control of it.

"It's impossible!" She declared after a failed attempt during the third week of lessons. "I can't even make the feather levitate-it just twitches!"

"I wouldn't be expecting you to do anymore; this is wandless magic, a skill that most witches and wizards can never master. You should be proud of this accomplishment, I'm sure that when you start doing spells with your wand, all of this preparation will seem worth it." Harry praised, noting the disheartened expression and irritated gleam in Delphi's eyes-as well as her nervous glance to where he knew she had stored her wand.

Seeing Delphi's struggle, Harry couldn't help but be reminded of his old friend, Neville, who himself had spent years thinking that he lacked any true ability, practically a squib. Just like him, Delphi seemed incapable of looking at the situation optimistically; however, they differed in many ways. She wasn't exactly the most patient child he had ever seen, with a tendency to become petulant and enraged when she encountered obstacles. Some of his colleagues took this as a reason for why she shouldn't be taught magic: _that thing is far too impulsive and unpredictable to be given a wand, let alone shown how to use it,_ he could remember Hortense Locksley chiding when Kingsley Shacklebolt had asked for an update of the situation.

Whilst Harry acknowledged that there was some truth to her words, in that it wasn't unheard of for Delphi, frustrated by her failures, to channel her Obscurial rather than her own magic. Luckily, she never let it take control or hurt anyone, but the prospect of it certainly created opposition to Harry's visits. Although Shacklebolt, as Minister of Magic, sided with him in continuing the lessons, he made sure that Harry saw the dangers: "Imagine if she accidently hurts or kills _you,_ the boy-who-lived, the one to defeat Voldemort. I don't know if I could prevent people like Hortense gaining influence."

His worries decreased as Christmas neared and Delphi used her Obscurial less and less; their lessons were clearly helping her, even if she struggled to see it sometimes. She now seemed capable of accessing her magic in moderation, and whilst she might not be performing great feats yet, he expected to be able to start her on basic wand technique in the New Year; he wanted to do it before she became too accustomed to wandless magic.

Delphi knew that she was making progress, especially when it came to not losing her temper and using her Obscurial. In comparison to remaining calm, keeping _that_ power contained was relatively easy. The more regular magic learnt, she found herself able to quiet that dark roaring in the back of her head, although not completely silence it. This, on the other hand, had a certain consequence: when angry, she now found objects around her shattering, breaking, with Harry telling her that this more resembled the accidental magic that she must have done as a child.

She never told Harry about the dream she had all those weeks ago, when she had first been gifted a wand, keeping the mysterious voice and its ominous words a secret. When it failed to appear again she attempted to convince herself that it had just been a dream, a nightmare, fiction, even if ever fibre of her body told her otherwise. Instead, she tried to forget that it had ever happened, placing all of her time on practicing magic. All day and for much of the night she practiced the beginners spells that Harry had introduce to her.

 _Wingardium Leviosa-_ the spell that most of her time had been spent on. Having not begun using her wand, such attempts typically involved staring at the object to be levitated and saying the words. It took weeks to get it off the ground, made all the more frustrating when Harry showed her how to do it with his wand and it seemed to happen effortlessly. During that lesson, she had questioned him about why she couldn't just use her wand, but he had simply given her vague answers about first learning control or else her magic might go haywire.

Christmas was quickly approaching and she had no idea what to expect. Aunt Rowle had never deemed her worthy enough to enjoy such a holiday and as such the day had been no different to any other. Looking back, she was surprised that Euphemia hadn't visited family and simply left her locked in the house, but from what Harry had told her she hadn't been close to her family, they hadn't even known that Delphi existed.

She knew that Harry was getting her a present, he had accidently let that slip towards the beginning of December, yet she had absolutely no idea what she was receiving. Part of her felt unbelievably uncomfortable with the idea-what if she hated it… and she had to pretend to like it? However, she couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips every time she thought about it, there was someone who actually spent time and effort on her, there was someone who cared about her. It was completely unfamiliar emotion, but welcome all the same.

The night after she learnt of the gift, she became determined to give Harry a present in return-even if she had no idea what. She had nothing in her room (cell) that she could give him, and considering how the rest of the Aurors seemed to ignore her existence, except to bring her food on the days when Harry was busy with other work, they seemed unlikely to do her a favour. She refused to consider asking them anyway, this was something she needed to do herself. However, the days past by and she still couldn't think of something decent to give the man who was arguing for her freedom and teaching her magic.

In fact, it wasn't until Christmas Eve, minutes before Harry was due to visit, when she realised what she was going to do. There was no guarantee it would work-it would most likely fail miserably-and she had no time to practice before her arrived, but it _had_ to work. She didn't even have the time to be nervous about it.

When Harry did finally arrive, exactly on time, he was wearing clothes unlike anything she had ever seen before. Both with Aunt Rowle and in Ministry custody she had seen nothing but dull robes, plain colours, with only the occasional splash of colour. Harry was sporting a dazzling scarlet jumper adorned with small, green trees on which small golden flashes of colour blinked on and off. On his hat was resembled a paper crown, a flimsy affair that barely seemed to fit due to his messy black hair. Paired with his outrageous clothes was a beaming smile and an arm carrying two parcels.

"Hello Delphi."

"Hello Harry." The use of his first name did not go unnoticed as he smirked in response.

"I won't be able to stay for long," he apologised, placing the presents beside him as he sat on the corner of her bed with her. "I've just come from visiting my godson and I'm due to visit my wife's family this afternoon."

Hearing talk about families created a slight pain in her chest, but she took a deep gulp, swallowing it, and replying: "It's okay."

"Merry Christmas… for tomorrow." He quickly added, with Delphi responding the same quickly.

"I'm sorry you have to be in here for Christmas," he said to her, giving her a sympathetic smile. "This is no place for a child."

A child. That was she was. Harry knew that… most of the Ministry had accepted that by now. The problem was that there were those who saw as an Obscurial before they considered her age. In only a few small months they had made great progress and he didn't see any possible reason why she might still be caged up by this time next year. In fact, in the next few weeks he would be making a request that she be allowed to attend Hogwarts in September, as the eleven-year-old girl she was.

Delphi spoke honestly. "It's better than the Christmases with Aunt Rowle. She never gave a present or card _ever._ She didn't care if I was happy."

At the mention of presents, Harry handed the first one to her. It was soft, and the bright red and gold wrapping paper matched Harry's jumper-Delphi guessed that it some kind of clothes. Carefully unwrapping the gift, she quickly realised that she had been correct, it was clothing, to be specific, a knitted woollen jumper bearing a large silver 'D' in the centre. It was clearly handmade and far too big for her, but in that moment, it was the best thing Delphi had ever owned.

"My mother-in-law makes them every year for the children… I have my own that she made me back when I was at Hogwarts. I didn't tell her about why you're here, just that you were in need of some cheering up. You don't have to wear it if you don't like it."

Delphi was not one to often cry, and so she didn't, but she became close: her eyes stung slightly and her vision blurred. It was an unfamiliar feeling, to be so happy that she was brought to tears.

"No…" she mumbled, quickly pulling it on over her dress. It did swamp Delphi's thin frame, but she loved the way it felt. "It's lovely, can you tell her thank you."

"I didn't know what colours you would like, so she chose them." He explained further. "I'll tell her how much you liked it."

Harry knew that if Molly Weasley found out that Delphi was being kept here then there would be no one who would stop her getting her out. However, this was not a matter that could be dealt with using brute force, if Delphi was to truly ever be free then he would have to play by the Ministry's rules.

"This one is from me." He passed her the second gift, a rectangular present that carried the same wrapping as the first.

Thanking him once more, she opened it with the same delicacy she showed to the jumper.

"' _Hogwarts: A History'_ by Bathilda Bagshot." She read the cover of the book carefully, glancing at the gold lettering and many pages.

"I thought you might like to find out more about Hogwarts, apart from what I've just told you. It's very long but I think you might enjoy it." He was thanked by Delphi, who placed it in her lap gently. However, upon seeing the way her smile didn't quite reach her eyes he knew that it might have been a mistake. She of course didn't know that he was trying to get permission from Shacklebolt to let her attend, so it might just seem like he was rubbing her situation in her face. Also, what if the request gets denied?

"Oh!" He quickly remembered, reaching into his trouser pocket and pulling out a card. "I almost forgot."

Delphi's face had perked up at this, he dark eyes trained on the small envelope.

"My godson Teddy wanted to write you a card. He doesn't know much about you, but when I mentioned that you would be alone tomorrow he insisted I gave it to you." He didn't mention that if she went to Hogwarts next year, Teddy would be her classmate.

 _To Delphini (or Delphi-Harry says you prefer that. My name's actually Theodore but no one calls me that… except Grandma when she's mad at me)_

 _Merry Christmas!_

 _I know you don't know me but I want you to have a great day!_

 _I hope we get to meet, I'm sure we would be good friends._

 _Lots of Love_

 _Teddy Lupin :)_

The front of the card had a photo of ice-skating penguins, moving right before Delphi's eyes. She was so enraptured by the scene that upon seeing one such penguin slip, she couldn't help but let out of small giggle.

"I have something for you as well." Delphi quickly said, seeing that Harry was about to leave.

"You really didn't have to…" Harry trailed off, watching how eager she was. Moving her gifts aside, she reached under the bed and pulled out two things: a bunch of feathers which they usually practiced magic with, and her wand.

Tipping all of the feathers on to the floor, all of Delphi's nerves returned, and a large part of her was regretting this whole thing. Without _any_ practice, she was almost certain to fail… but she was desperate to prove herself, show that she could magic properly.

"Delphi, what are you doing?" It was clear from his worried tone that he had doubts about whatever she was going to attempt, but she knew that he just had to see her succeed just this once.

She chose not to answer him, simply taking her wand out of its box. The wand hadn't been opened since the day she had been given it, meaning that this was going to be the first time she had even held it. Clutching the dark wood in her left hand, she tried to ignore the voice in the back of her head that never wanted to let the wand go again, whilst her own caution wanted to drop the wand right then and there.

 _Swish and flick… swish and flick… swish and flick_

The motions of the spell ran through her head, recalling what Harry had looked like whilst showing her the spell. Despite this, her heart refused to stop racing, her vision shaking. She couldn't mess this up. She tried to calm herself down, but as long as she could see Harry's anxious face in the corner of her eye, she would never be able to do this. Clamping her eyes shut, it became infinitely easier to concentrate, removing all the distractions that hindered her.

 _Wingardium Leviosa…_ she could feel the magic inside of her, a roaring beast, a thundering wave.

 _Wingardium Leviosa…_ she could feel the wand pulsating in her hand, urging her to use it.

" _Wingardium Leviosa,"_ she whispered, letting no fear into her voice, waving the wand in the correct movements.

It was as though she could see the magic before her, an extra limb that she willed into levitating the feathers. The feeling was glorious, unlike anything she had felt before; she had no desire to halt the spell anytime soon. It was almost addictive, that rush of power, and she desired nothing more than to get more of it.

"Oh Delphi…" Harry's voice broke through her barriers, nearly shocking her into breaking the charm. What did his words mean? Had she made a complete idiot out of herself? Would he have finally realised that he had better things to be doing than humouring a young girl with the idea of doing magic?

Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she finally peeked a glance at the feathers. She had hoped that one, maybe two of the feathers had risen, to have expected anything more would have been asking for failure.

The truth that had shocked even Harry, as well as Delphini, was that every single feather in the pile, about a hundred or so, was dancing about the room as though dancing to some inaudible waltz. _This was magic,_ she thought, smiling contently to herself.

"Merry Christmas, Harry."

AN:

So, this was quite a bit longer than I had anticipated, but… here it is. Thank you everyone who had followed/favourited/reviewed, I really appreciate it. The story should really be picking up in the next few chapters as the story truly starts flowing.


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